Perley Lake – Site 1

I stayed on this site in August, 2017. Or, more accurately, I planned to stay on this site in August, 2017, but ended up moving on before the day was over. The closest access point to this one is the Brent access on Cedar Lake. It’s a day of hard travel from Brent, or, more realistically, the second day of a trip out of there. It’s not a bad spot, definitely fine to stay at if necessary. The ticks seem to think so too.

Location/Terrain: Located pretty much in the middle of Perley lake, on a long point off the north shore. The site is flat enough, especially the area right around the fire pit, but there is a lot of up and down required on this one, particularly getting to and from the beach area where you’d park your canoe or swim. After you pull up on the beach you immediately climb about 10 feet up a relatively steep slope to get to the path back to the site itself. The fire pit/tent spots are a bit of a walk from the landing along a much gentler upwards slope. The ground is mostly pine needles and hard packed dirt and is free of obstacles.

Canoe landing looking out a Perley

The fire pit area.

Canoe Landing: A rocky beach right at the tip of the peninsula. Very easy to load and unload from, but as I mentioned above, there’s a bit of a hike from the beach to the rest of the site. Underwater approach is more of the same in terms of small rocks.

I pitched my tent in the open area just past the logs. Good trees for tying on a tarp as well.

Tent Sites: The number of tent sites available depends on how flat you want things. There are two close to the fire pit that would work well enough, and a third that’s on a bit of a slope. You could also set up a tent (or two) on the point just up from the canoe landing, but again, you’d be dealing with a bit of a slope.

Accessories: A couple of very rough log benches around the fire pit. Ticks.

Fire Pit: Well built, nothing special. There was no grill to be found on the site to rate on the “I wouldn’t put anything that goes on that in my stomach” scale.

Swimability: Pretty swimmable. The school of minnows that swarmed me when I went for my swim seemed to agree. The rock beach continues underwater a long way, so some kind of footwear would make the walk out a bit easier.

The fire pit.

Looking towards the tip of the peninsula from just in front of the fire pit. Possible tent spot in front.

Thunderbox: Further up the hill, well away from the site. It has a partially obstructed view of the river, which means the river has a partially obstructed view of it. Keep that in mind.

The climb up from the canoe landing.

Views: Very nice westward view down Perley from the canoe landing. Apart from that the site is very closed in by trees, so not much of a view of the water from anywhere else (except the thunder box).

Drawbacks: The slope directly after the canoe landing is kind of the icing on the poop cake after a long day of portaging. I saw a few ticks on the site, which isn’t ideal. Apart from that, it’s a decent spot.